British Indian Ocean Territory — books & literature

The story of British Indian Ocean Territory

The islands of the Chagos Archipelago were uninhabited until the late 18th century, when French settlers brought enslaved and indentured labourers from Africa and South Asia to work coconut plantations , the ancestors of the Chagossian people. Control passed to Britain after the Napoleonic Wars, and the islands were long administered as a dependency of Mauritius. On 8 November 1965 the United Kingdom split the Chagos Archipelago off from Mauritius to create the British Indian Ocean Territory, largely to make Diego Garcia available for a joint UK-US military base. Between 1968 and 1973 the roughly 2,000 Chagossians living on the islands were forcibly removed by the British government to Mauritius and Seychelles, and since 1971 only military personnel and contractors have been permitted to live there. Diego Garcia grew into one of the most strategically important US military installations in the world. In 2025 the UK and Mauritius signed a treaty to transfer sovereignty of the archipelago to Mauritius while Britain retains the Diego Garcia base on a 99-year lease; ratification remains unresolved amid Chagossian-led legal challenges and shifting geopolitics, and the territory's final status is still being written today.

Timeline — key moments

1. 1512

   Portuguese sailors are the first Europeans recorded to sight Diego Garcia.

2. late 18th century

   French settlers establish coconut plantations, bringing enslaved and indentured workers who become the Chagossian people.

3. 1814

   The Chagos Archipelago is ceded to Britain under the Treaty of Paris, administered as part of Mauritius.

4. 1965

   The United Kingdom separates the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius to form the British Indian Ocean Territory (8 November).

5. 1968-1973

   The British government forcibly removes the entire Chagossian population to Mauritius and Seychelles.

6. 1971

   Construction of the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia begins; civilian residence is banned.

7. 2019

   The International Court of Justice issues an advisory opinion that UK administration of the Chagos Archipelago is unlawful and should end.

8. 2025

   The UK and Mauritius sign a treaty (22 May) to transfer sovereignty, with Diego Garcia remaining a UK-US base under a 99-year lease.

9. 2026

   A small group of Chagossians returns to Ile du Coin without government permission; the BIOT Supreme Court affirms their right to live there, pending appeal.

Top 10 things to know about British Indian Ocean Territory

1. The British Indian Ocean Territory has no permanent civilian population , only military personnel and contractors.
2. It comprises the Chagos Archipelago, a chain of atolls in the central Indian Ocean.
3. Diego Garcia is the largest island and hosts a major joint UK-US military and naval support facility.
4. The territory was created in 1965 specifically to provide a site for the military base.
5. The Chagossian people were forcibly removed from the islands between 1968 and 1973.
6. The base at Diego Garcia has supported US military operations across the Middle East and Asia for decades.
7. A 2025 UK-Mauritius treaty proposes transferring sovereignty while Britain keeps the Diego Garcia base on lease.
8. The surrounding waters were designated one of the world's largest marine protected areas in 2010.
9. The territory is one of the most remote and restricted-access places under British administration.
10. The islands sit roughly midway between East Africa and Indonesia in the Indian Ocean.

Did you know?

• ★No one is born a citizen of the British Indian Ocean Territory , it has no resident civilian population.
• ★The entire Chagossian population, about 2,000 people, was removed from their homeland within a five-year span.
• ★Diego Garcia is close enough to the equator that it has never recorded a hurricane strike.

British Indian Ocean Territory culture

• There is no resident culture on the islands today , daily life on Diego Garcia is shaped entirely by the UK-US military mission.
• Chagossian culture and cuisine survive in exile among diaspora communities in Mauritius, Seychelles, and the UK, not on the islands themselves.
• The waters around the archipelago are protected as a large marine reserve, prized for coral reefs and seabird colonies.
• The territory's history is defined by its administrative and geopolitical role rather than by any living local tradition.

Why read British Indian Ocean Territory's books

The British Indian Ocean Territory has no resident population to write its own literature, but its story of exile, empire, and military geopolitics has produced a growing body of history, legal writing, and Chagossian testimony worth exploring on the shelves below.